Police detained five youths here Monday after finding a cache of swastika insignia, crowbars, truncheons and swords in the basement of a building in a working class neighborhood on the edge of Rome.
The detainees are suspected of belonging to hooligan gangs of the far right wing known as “Naziskins.”
They are part of the growing “Skinhead” phenomenon, roving bands of youthful troublemakers with shaved heads who attack fans at soccer matches and assault people at random in the streets.
The police are cracking down, as the attacks have become more violent.
Young hooligans threw firebombs at soccer fans Sunday on a train in Florence, seriously injuring two people. Last week a gang of “Nazi-skins” beat up two youths outside a movie theater in downtown Rome.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
